DATE/TIME: Sunday, Nov. 29 / 2 p.m.
OPPONENT/EVENT: St. John's
LOCATION: Carnesecca Arena, Queens, N.Y.
TV: Fox Sports 2 (Ralph Bednarcyk & Lachina Robinson) | FoxSportsGo
RADIO: News Talk Florida 1040-AM | GoUSFBulls.com
FOLLOW: Live Stats | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
TAMPA, NOV. 28, 2015 – No. 18/17 USF (3-1) will look to reverse a trend in Queens, N.Y. Sunday afternoon, when they travel to St. John's University to play in the historic Carnesecca Arena. The Bulls will face the Red Storm for the tenth time, and are looking for just their third win in series history.
After its highest scoring game this season, USF will face an efficient St. John's offense that averages over 65 points per game and returns two of the best guards in the country. Last season in the Bulls 55-52 loss to St. John's in Tampa, seniors Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant combined for 29 of the Red Storm's points.
Sunday will be the Bulls first televised game of the season, one of 18 games scheduled to air in 2015-16. Fox Sports 2 is available regionally and will be streamed via FOX Sports Go, available on your computer, tablet or smart phone.
Bulls Bites
· The Bulls are coming off their highest fourth quarter performance to date, turning in 30 points against Butler. USF has been outscored in the first quarter in its past two games, but have held opponents to 15 points in the third quarter in the past three games, outscoring opponents 54-45.
· Courtney Williams (Folkston, Ga.) has scored 20+ points in all four games this season. The senior leads The American with 28.0 points per game, which ranks second in Division I.
· USF limited itself to five turnovers in its last outing against Butler, including just one turnover in the first half. The last time the Bulls had 10 or less turnovers was Feb. 9, 2015 against UConn.
· Alisia Jenkins (Statesboro, Ga.) is 58 rebounds away from the USF career rebound record. The record is 1,077 rebounds set by Wanda Guyton in 1989. Jenkins grabbed 14 rebounds at Baylor to surpass the 1,000-rebound mark. She enters Wednesday's contest with 1,007 rebounds. Jenkins is just the second Bull in program history to reach join both the 1,000-rebound and 1,000-point club. Jenkins scored her 1,000th point in the first game of the season against Jacksonville.
· The Bulls are ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press (AP) Top-25 Poll released Monday and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches Poll released Tuesday. Both rankings are the highest in program history.
Around the American
· Seven American teams are scheduled to play on Saturday. No. 1 UConn will host RV/RV Nebraska at the XL Center at 1 p.m. ET. NR/RV Tulane concludes play in the Paradis Jam against NR/RV Virginia at 1 p.m. ET. UCF will take on Buffalo at 2:30 p.m. ET. Houston wraps the Lone Star Showcase against No. 25/21 Iowa at 3 p.m. ET. Tulsa will start play in the UNLV Lady Rebel Round Up against Drake at 5:30 p.m. ET. SMU finishes play in the SMU Thanksgiving Classic against Kansas at 6 p.m. ET. NR/RV East Carolina is set to play No. 19 Northwestern at 8:30 p.m. ET in the final day of the Lone Star Showcase.
· Head Coach Heather Macy won her 100th game at the helm of the Pirate program as NR/RV East Carolina defeated Eastern Washington, 80-62, in the second game of the Lone Star Showcase. Jada Payne recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 16 rebounds. I'Tiana Taylor posted 14 points and 10 rebounds while Marina Laramie scored 17 points in the win
· SMU opened play in the SMU Thanksgiving Classic with a 74-53 win against Cal State Fullerton on Friday. The Mustangs outscored the Titans, 27-10, in the fourth quarter to capture the victory. Alicia Froling registered her third double-double of the season with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. McKenzie Adams scored 15 points to go with nine assists.
· Cincinnati fell to No. 20/22 Michigan State, 103-63, in Day 2 of the Junkanoo Jam. Jasmine Whitfield led the Bearcats with 14 points and grabbed four rebounds. Bianca Quisenberry poured in 10 points while Alyesha Lovett added eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
· Houston had three players reach double-figures as the Cougars dropped a 75-61 contest to Wright State in their second game of the Lone Star Showcase. Alecia Smith led the offense with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Seritha Hawkins registered 11 points and secured seven rebounds while Tyler Gilbert added 10 points and three blocks off the bench.
· Little Rock utilized a late run to top Memphis, 61-53, on Friday at the Jack Stephens Center. Ariel Hearn led the Tigers with 16 points and six rebounds while Brianna Wright posted her second-straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
· Tulane lost to Green Bay, 79-58, in the Paradise Jams on Friday. Kolby Morgan paced the Green Wave with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Leslie Vorpahl recorded 12 points to go with six assists and three steals.
St. John's Scout
· After dropping its season opener to UCLA on Nov. 13, St. John's has found its rhythm in its last three games, picking up victories over UC Irvine, Rutgers and Marist. The Red Storm defeated Marist, a team that has been to 10 of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments, on Monday.
· The Red Storm has been led by a trio this season, as Danaejah Grant, Jade Walker and Aliyyah Handford have been crucial to the Red Storm's winning efforts. Grant, who registered the team's first double-double of the season against Rutgers, has averaged a team-best 17.8 points and 6.5 boards per game so far this season.
· Walker, coming off the bench in all four games, is averaging 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. The Maplewood, N.J., native has reached double figures in all four games.
· Handford, the 2015-16 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year is putting up 14.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Up Next
The Bulls will return to Florida for a three-game home stand Thursday. USF hosts Harvard Dec. 3 before welcoming Big 10 power Penn State Dec. 6, a match-up that will air on CBS Sports Network. In the Bulls final home game of the three-game swing in Tampa, they will host Chattanooga Dec. 13.
Jose Fernandez's 2015 women's basketball team returns all five starters, including All-American Candidate Courtney Williams, from a team that posted a 27-8 (15-3 American) record in 2014-15 and finished the season in the top 25 rankings. The squad finished second behind eventual NCAA champion UConn in the American Athletic Conference and made an exciting NCAA Tournament run that saw USF top LSU in front of 5,560 fans in the Sun Dome in the NCAA regional round.
In 2015-16, the Bulls will be hosting their toughest schedule yet, including the opening rounds of the Preseason WNIT, along with perennial powers Penn State, Chattanooga, Oklahoma State and UConn making trips to Tampa. Season tickets, starting at just $65, are available for purchase online at USFBullsTix.com, by phone at 1-800-GoBulls or in person at the Gate B ticket office of the Sun Dome, with single game tickets going on sale in late September.
USF has made 11 postseason tournament appearances and had three NCAA Tournament berths in Head Coach Jose Fernandez's 15 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to six 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 260 games.
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